There's a whole host of terms and expressions in the mobile industry that can sometimes cause confusion. We've listed the main ones below as a guide. You'll also find a submission form at the bottom of this page in case you want clarification on anything.
Jargon Buster |
Listing Articles 1 to 40 of 52 |
|
|
3G |
Is the 3rd generation of mobile digital technology and provides improvements in capacity, speed and efficiency. 3G Services on your Vodafone device can include face-to-face video calling, mobile TV and high speed internet browsing. 3G coverage continues to grow and Vodafone has met the license commitment to have 80% population coverage by 2007. Their extensive 2G (GSM) network covers 99% of the population - allowing users to make and receive calls, send text and picture messages and access mobile email across the UK. |
|
A2DP |
| Advanced Audio Distribution Profile. Basic audio in the Bluetooth specification provides a very narrow frequency response that is optimized for voice communication—great for speech, not so great for music. By contrast, A2DP allows high-fidelity audio to be streamed from one Bluetooth device to another. |
|
A-GPS |
A-GPS (Assisted GPS) - This feature, which can currently be found on the Nokia 6110 Navigator and the Nokia N95 (v.12 or later firmware only), uses the mobile phone network to assist the GPS, which makes the initial connection to GPS quicker and gives a more exact location. |
|
BlackBerry |
The BlackBerry solution consists of smartphones integrated with software that enables access to email and other communication services. The BlackBerry solution gives mobile users access to email, phone, data, applications, games and the Internet from a smartphone. The solution can be customised to meet the needs of one person or an entire enterprise, to any scale, in any industry. |
|
Bluetooth |
A low power radio technology developed with the objective of eliminating wires. Bluetooth headsets paired to mobile phones are a common application for hands-free calls. Why is it called Bluetooth? The Viking king Harald Bluetooth united Norway and Denmark. He was renowned as a great communicator, skilled at bringing people together to talk to each other - but he would never have guessed that a thousand years later a powerful technology would be named after him! |
|
Connect Card |
Mobile Internet enabling technology that simply plugs into a laptop computer. |
|
DARP |
| DARP (Downlink Advanced Receiver Performance) is a method that increases network capacity by reducing interference in mobile radio networks, and can mean better voice quality on calls. |
|
Extranet |
Connection of a organisation's Intranet to the Internet, usually to allow selected users to access information and applications. |
|
Flight mode |
| In Flight mode (sometimes known as offline mode), the radio function is turned off so it doesn't disturb sensitive equipment, e.g. in a plane or hospital. You can't make or take calls, but you can still use some of the functions in your phone ie music player, camera, etc.
|
|
FM Transmitter |
A built-in FM transmitter lets you share your music the easy way. Just tune in your phone to an FM frequency and send the music to other FM receiver devices, i.e. a car radio. |
|
GSM |
Stands for Global System for Mobile Communications and is a digital mobile telephone system widely in used in Europe and beyond. As many GSM network operators have roaming agreements with their foreign counterparts, users can often use their mobiles when abroad. |
|
GPRS |
Stands for General Packet Radio Service and provides mobile phones with a continous wireless connection. Users do not pay for the time they are connected, only for the amount of data sent or received. |
|
GPS |
Stands for Global Positioning System and is a worldwide radio-navigation system using satellites. |
|
Hands Free |
An expression used for equipment that will allow calls to be made without physically holding a handset. |
|
Handwriting Recognition |
| Text input using stylus on touchscreen: write a character as you would with a pen, and it transforms it into the corresponding letter on a keyboard. |
|
HSDPA |
| HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access) or Mobile Broadband is a recent mobile telecommunications protocol, which has also been called 3.5G. Vodafone UK was the first UK operator to launch HSDPA, providing data rates of up to 1.8Mbps. This means that Vodafone customers can access data services at speeds that are up to 32 times the speed of normal dial up and up to 4 times the speed of 3G. |
|
HSUPA |
| High Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), offers increased upload speeds of 1.44Mbps. Throughout the autumn of 2007 and through 2008, Vodafone will be beefing up its network to support a theoretical maximum download speed of 7.2Mbps, although users are likely to experience between 1.7Mbps and 5.5Mbps. |
|
IMEI |
Stands for International Mobile Equipment Identity, & it's the equipment's serial number. |
|
Intranet |
An internal website providing information. |
|
IP |
Stands for Internet Protocol, and is the method by which data is sent from one computer to another on the Internet |
|
ISP |
Stands for an Internet Service Provider, and it's a company that provided access to the Internet. |
|
LAN |
Stands for Local Area Network. |
|
Landline |
This is a term to describe a fixed telephone line. |
|
Memory cards |
| Memory cards are IC recording media that use flash memory to record various digital media on a single stick. Also known as silicon media, IC uses an Integrated Circuit to store data and offer compact high-capacity, high-speed data read/write, expandability and copyright protection.
Typically used on mobile phones to store music and photos. |
|
MMS |
Is an acronym for Multimedia Messaging Service, which allows you to send and receive text, pictures and sound in one message. |
|
OS |
| Operating System - the platform which controls the operation of a mobile device. Popular OS include Symbian, Symbian UIQ, Palm and Microsoft's Windows Mobile. An group of companies, the Open Handset Alliance, headed by Google, are to launch the latest OS, Andriod, during 2008. |
|
PAC |
Stands for 'Porting Authorisation Code', and it's used by customer's as their authorisation from their current mobile network to enable them to take their mobile number to another network. |
|
PDA |
Stands for a 'Personal Digital Assistant' and is a small, handheld computer that is used as a personal organiser and communicator. |
|
PIN |
| Personal Identity Number - a security code (often 4 digits) that is manually set by a customer to prevent unauthorised usage of a service. The default PIN on the Vodafone network is 0000. |
|
Port |
Means to transfer a number to or from another mobile network. |
|
POP3 |
Stands for Post Office Protocol version 3, which is a protocol used for sending email over the Internet. |
|
PUK Code |
This is PIN Unlocking Key, and is required when a PIN has been entered incorrectly several times. This code can only be obtained from the user's mobile network. |
|
Quad-Band |
A feature on a mobile phone which enables it to automatically switch between four different frequencies for use in different countries worldwide. |
|
Roaming |
Is to use a mobile phone outside the user's home country. |
|
Sat Nav |
A short name for 'Satellite Navigation'. |
|
Shake Control |
The easy way to change your tune: just shake your phone. With Shake control activated, press and hold the Walkman key, then flick your wrist. A vibration lets you know that the track has been changed - a new song from your current playlist is selected randomly then played automatically. |
|
Smartnav |
A real-time Satellite Navigation system that keeps drivers moving on the roads. |
|
SIM |
The SIM ('Subscriber Identity Module') card is a small postage-stamp sized card that fits inside your phone and contains information about your phone number and can also be used to store your contact names and numbers. |
|
SMS |
This stands for 'Short Message Service', allowing users to send and receive mobile phone text messages up to 160 characters long. |
|
Query submission
|
